Tooth and gum disease can lead to serious health problems both in humans and companion animals. However, dogs and cats make use of their teeth more than humans do. Accordingly, toothache, dental disease, and loss of teeth can all have serious consequences for companion animals. To date, damage to the teeth and gums in companion animals is considered to be permanent and irreversible. According to the American Veterinary Dental Society, 80% of dogs and 70% of cats have periodontal (gum) disease by the age of three. Proper dental care could increase the life of these animals by many years. Accordingly, maintenance of good oral health and prevention of oral disease is a primary necessity for animals, that, unlike humans, do not have the ability to exercise control over oral and dental hygiene by using proper preventative techniques.
Dental care in dogs and cats has become common. Like humans, dog teeth and gums are also susceptible to many of the same oral health problems (e.g., gingivitis and periodontal disease). However, unlike humans, animals rarely get cavities. This is because cavities are primarily caused by the high sugar content of the human diet and the morphology of human teeth. However, periodontal disease affects both human and mammals alike. Bacteria and plaque that attaches to the tissues of the mouth can cause periodontal disease. The first stage of periodontal disease is gingivitis, which is very common. In this stage, the bacteria have mixed with saliva and formed plaque. Plaque adheres to the teeth and hardens, forming tartar and calculus. These tartar deposits irritate the gum tissue and cause inflammation, swelling, and infection. It is at this stage that gingivitis is most notable.
There are indications that oral health status has a profound effect on an animal's general health. Periodontal disease and other oral cavity pathologies may cause bacteria and/or their toxins to enter the bloodstream with potentially deleterious effects on various internal organs (e.g., the heart, kidneys, liver, etc.). Conversely, poor systemic health may manifest in the oral cavity in various ways and may also exacerbate periodontal disease. An animal's dental examination is therefore not always limited to the oral cavity, but frequently includes a general physical examination. Laboratory examinations, to evaluate systemic disease concerns, are also commonly performed. Some dogs and cats suffer from chronic oral infection (e.g., stomatitis, a poorly understood condition that is difficult to treat) and oral cancer.
Pathologic dental conditions are also common in animals, particularly cats. Examples of pathologic dental conditions in felines may include such conditions as tooth lesions. Common tooth lesions found in cats include Feline Odontoclastic Resorptive Lesions (FORL) and dental fractures. Other common oral conditions observed in the cat include periodontal disease (gingivitis, periodontitis), and feline gingivitis/stomatitis syndrome (lymphocytic-plasmacytic gingivitis stomatitis (LPGS), a severe inflammatory condition). The lesions of feline gingivitis/stomatitis syndrome may include inflammation of periodontal structures, oral mucosa, lips and/or tongue.
Plaque bacteria on the teeth may cause periodontal disease. The combined effects of bacterial toxins and the products of the host's inflammatory response to the bacteria may cause the periodontal tissues to become inflamed. Periodontal tissues may be damaged and/or destroyed if intervention does not occur. An unusually aggressive response by a subject's immune system may explain why some individual patients or certain breeds of cats exhibit rapidly progressing and more severe disease.
FORL (otherwise commonly referred to as neck lesions, cervical line erosions, and/or cat cavities) is the most common dental problem in seen in cats. Studies worldwide have shown incidence rates in cats of dental problems of up to 75%. FORL is a very painful condition. Clinical signs associated with FORL may include anorexia, drooling, refusal to eat, and/or malaise.
Another condition associated with the oral health of, for example cats, is feline gingivitis/stomatitis syndrome (FGS). Cats with FGS may have clinical signs of partial to complete anorexia, drooling, halitosis, and/or oral pain. Physical exams of felines may evidence signs of gingivitis (inflammation of the gingiva), stomatitis (inflammation extending to the oral mucosa), palatitis, faucitis (inflammation of the caudal fauca), glossal ulceration, pharyngitis, and/or submandibular lymphadenopathy (swollen glands).
Additional oral maladies may include and/or are a result of, for example, feline calicivirus (FCV). FCV is a virus of the family Caliciviridae that is believed to cause disease in cats. FCV can be isolated from about 50 percent of cats with upper respiratory infection.
Animals infected with FCV may develop symptoms acutely, chronically, or not at all. Latent infections may become symptomatic when the animal is stressed. Acute symptoms of FCV include fever, conjunctivitis, nasal discharge, sneezing, and/or ulceration of the mouth (stomatitis). Stomatitis may develop without any upper respiratory infection symptoms, but fever and loss of appetite may occur. The great variability of symptoms in individual cases of FCV may be related to the existence of different strains of the virus.
With many of the oral maladies (especially those mentioned above typically associated with felines) there is little recourse available to the pet owner. If an oral malady is diagnosed early enough, aggressive and regular oral cleaning may (but not necessarily) eventually clear up the malady. A veterinarian and/or pet owner may have to clean the pet's oral cavity several times a week for months or for the duration of the animal's life. Many times, especially if the malady is not diagnosed early enough, the only recourse available is oral surgery including, for example, extracting any affected teeth. However, even full tooth extraction does not always clear up certain pathological conditions (e.g., chronic ulcerative paradental stomatitis (CUPS)), which is a painful condition seen in dogs and cats.
Therefore, there is a need for compositions and methods for maintaining good oral health as well as preventing and treating oral disease in companion animals.